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Genovino Type 3
| Issuer | Republic of Genoa |
|---|---|
| Year | 1305-1339 |
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| Currency | Genovino (1139-1528) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin (uncial) |
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| Reverse description | Central device consisting of a plain cross pattée set within a polylobed or quatrefoil inner border, the lobes adorned with small rosette or cinquefoil ornaments, closely mirroring the decorative scheme of the obverse. A beaded inner circle frames the central motif and separates it from the outer legend. The peripheral inscription in uncial Latin reads CONRADVS REX ROMANORVM, introduced by a cross pattée, with cross or star word separators, invoking the imperial authority of Conrad, King of the Romans, under whose nominal suzerainty Genoa struck its gold coinage. The hammered flan is slightly irregular in outline, as is characteristic of medieval Genoese gold. |
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| Additional information |
The genovino was among the earliest gold coins struck in medieval Western Europe, launched by Genoa in 1252 — the same year Florence introduced the florin. The Type 3 issue reflects Genoa's sustained commercial dominance across the eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea trade networks during the early fourteenth century, when Genoese merchant colonies at Caffa, Pera, and Chios depended on a stable, high-purity gold currency accepted without question by Byzantine and Mongol trading partners alike.
At .999 fineness, the genovino's purity was essentially unimpeachable — a deliberate policy that distinguished it from competitors and held through successive die types without debasement.